Fantasy Sports News Alert

ABSTRACT

A method of providing an on line service to fantasy sports players who own, draft or manage fictional teams of professional athletes which compete against each other where the service is notifying a fantasy sports manager of last minute near real time sports updates relating to football, baseball or basketball of breaking information/lineup change information. The information enables the fantasy sports manager to quickly make a change to the lineup of his/her team and the fantasy sport manager, upon receiving the breaking information about a change that has occurred that affects the fantasy manager&#39;s daily lineup can quickly make a change to his/her team lineup to obtain a competitive edge.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a fantasy football, baseball andbasketball games in which participants act as “coaches” to form theirown teams from among active league players and in which participantcoaches are rewarded based upon the actual performance of the players ontheir teams in real life games. More specifically the invention relatesto providing near real time information to players of fantasy sports whowant a competitive advantage by having critical, more timely informationthat is needed to make more accurate predictions such as a change thathas occurred that affects the fantasy manager's daily lineup such as aninjury, a day off, etc.

2. Description of Related Art

Fantasy sports league games are well known. Generally, in such gamesparticipants select currently active real-life athletes to form fantasyteams. A participant's success or failure in the game depends on theperformance of the players in real-life games. Owners of such fantasyteams compete against each of the other teams. More specifically, by wayof example, U.S. PreGrant Publication No. 2006/0252476 to Bahoudiscloses a fantasy sport in which each team is associated with at leastone actual player from an actual sport that is played over amultiple-game schedule, selecting a plurality of scoring statisticsbased on actual scoring statistics associated with the actual sport tomeasure the performance of the fantasy team, selecting a seriescorresponding to a portion of an actual schedule of the sport, anddetermining and evaluating the scoring statistics accrued by the fantasyteam during the course of the selected series.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,944 to Hughes discloses a fantasy sports which mayallow a user to enter the same team to compete in one or more leagues orthe fantasy sports contest application may allow the user to advancefrom lower level leagues to higher-level leagues having the same orcooperating sponsors. In another embodiment the fantasy sport may allowa user to enter a team that was previously drafted for one league tocompete in another league.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,001,279 to Barber, et al. discloses fantasy sportsleagues created for users of common user equipment so that they maycompete against each other.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,565 to Liegey discloses a fantasy sports game whichincludes increasing the points available for winning picks in laterrounds and allowing participants to trade teams. The points awarded forpicking the winning team may also be based on the Round of thetournament and the “seed” of the winning team.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,862 to Junkin, discloses a ticker tape or some othervisual display or audio broadcast is shown or broadcast on a device ofan interactive apparatus with real time score values indicative of theplayers' performance in the event. Using the interactive apparatus, theparticipants select and trade members on the team using a menu displayedor broadcast on the interactive device. The menu provides relevantinformation regarding the performance of the participant's team, andallows the participant to select and trade members on the participant'steam with members listed in a contest roster database while the event isoccurring in real time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is discloseda method of providing an online notification service to fantasy sportsplayers who own, draft or manage fictional teams of professionalathletes which compete against each other comprises:

notifying a fantasy sports manager of last minute near real time sportsupdates relating to football, baseball or basketball of breakinginformation/lineup change information to enable the fantasy sportsmanager to quickly make a change to the lineup of his/her team;

wherein the fantasy sport manager upon receiving the breakinginformation about a change that has occurred that affects the fantasymanager's daily lineup can quickly make a change to his/her team lineupto obtain a competitive edge.

The more important features of the invention have thus been outlined inorder that the more detailed description that follows may be betterunderstood and in order that the present contribution to the art maybetter be appreciated. Additional features of the invention will bedescribed hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claimsthat follow.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, itis to be understood that the invention is not limited in its applicationto the details of construction and the arrangements of the componentsset forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings.The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced andcarried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that thephraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present invention. It is important,therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

The foregoing has outlined, rather broadly, the preferred feature of thepresent invention so that those skilled in the art may better understandthe detailed description of the invention that follows. Additionalfeatures of the invention will be described hereinafter that form thesubject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art shouldappreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception andspecific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying otherstructures for carrying out the same purposes of the present inventionand that such other structures do not depart from the spirit and scopeof the invention in its broadest form.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome more fully apparent from the following detailed description, theappended claim, and the accompanying drawings in which similar elementsare given similar reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an Internet based hardware arrangementof the fantasy sports game in accordance with the principles of theinvention; and

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing the flow of information for obtainingthe lineup of a baseball team in accordance with the principles of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

America's longtime love of sports and its growing fascination with theInternet have created wide interest in a new online pastime referred toas fantasy sports. This new sport is dominated by 18 to 55 year old men,roughly 27 million people play fantasy sports in the US today whichaccounts for annual revenue projections of $1.5 billion to $2 billion.

In fantasy sports, participants own, draft and manage fictional teams ofprofessional athletes where the fantasy teams compete against others,and the statistics generated in actual games determine the leagueresults and the winners.

Thus, the timeliness of a player's lineup is critical to the outcome ofa given game.

This invention is directed to filling a demand for critical, timelierinformation by providing a notification service of near real time sportsupdates that relate to football, baseball and basketball. Players cansign up for free email or subscribe to receive paid email or textservices that have the information that is needed to make more accuratepredictions such as, for example, a change that has occurred that canaffect the fantasy manager's daily lineup such as an injury or a dayoff.

Being privy to last minute, behind the scenes, up to date informationenhances the fantasy sports manager's experience by forging a strongerbond between the manager and the players he has chosen for his team,making him feel like an insider and enhancing the overall experience;and by enabling the fantasy sports manager to quickly make a change toput in a reserve player which allows them to get points for that day.This gives the manager a major advantage, a competitive over the othermanagers.

The need for inside information is truly game changing. Currently, lastminute lineup information is not available in an automated way. Prior tothis invention last minute information was difficult, if not impossibleand very time consuming to obtain because players do not have access tocritical data at anytime or anywhere. Now, for the first time with thisinvention of Fantasy Sports News Alert players can have access to thisdifficult to obtain up to the minute changes which can affect theoutcome of a game.

Fantasy Sports News Alert will derive revenue from online advertiserstargeting the fantasy sports audience and from players that want toreceive paid text alerts or ad-free email in lieu of free emailnotification with ads. Thus, notification of sports news alerts bystandard email will be free. Notification by email without advertisingwill be a paid service. Notification by text message will be on asubscription basis, with the price determined by the maximum number ofmessages per month. Users who sign up for the service provide by FantasySports News Alert, whether free or paid, will be motivated by thecompetitive edge the service provides.

This invention is the first to provide timely updates that impactdecisions that a player might make about specific games such as, forexample, which players should be included or excluded in the lineup forthat day.

Real time alerts and other types of content are currently obtained fromSTATS, Inc. which was founded in 1981, began as a grass roots operationtracking baseball. Today with more than 25 years of experience insophisticated sports data collection, processing and distribution, STATSis the world's leading sports information, content and statisticalanalysis company. STATS maintains a nationwide network of reporters whocover 234 sports a year and track every pitch, snap, shot and goal inextensive detail. STATS offers a worldwide portfolio of sportsinformation solutions, including the company's listing of real timescores, historical sports information and turnkey fantasy sportsoperation, along with AP editorial content, breaking sports news andphotos. STATS is owned jointly by the Associated Press and NewsCorporation, with corporate offices in London, Chicago, New York, LosAngeles etc.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram of an Internet basedhardware arrangement of the fantasy sports game in accordance with theprinciples of the invention.

Fantasy sports contest-related information may include any suitableinformation associated with one or more fantasy sports contests in whichthe user participates or in which the user may have an interest such asinformation regarding real-life athletes (e.g., names, statistics,etc.), real-life sports leagues (e.g., game schedules, standings, etc.),real-life sporting events (e.g., baseball games, basketball, football),sports arenas, weather information, sports commentary, or any othersuitable information regarding real-life sports or events that may havean affect on the one or more fantasy sports contests in which the userparticipates.

In FIG. 1, a fantasy sports contest may be on one or more servers 12which may access one or more databases having information related tofantasy sports contests such as, for example, a data base of the rules18 which my be used to store the rules for one or more fantasy contests;database 20 which stores data obtained from STATS used in conjunctionwith an automated processing interface (API) 26 that facilitates themovement of data (real-life statistical information on athletes in oneor more real-life sports categories, e.g., baseball, basketball,football, etc. from the primary database of sports information, STATS,to the user; and database 22 which may include user account information,such as, for example, user identification information (e.g., user nameand password), fantasy sports participation information (e.g., leaguesthat the user participates in, team compositions, etc.), or any otherinformation specific to the user.

The Internet 14 is used for communication between client equipment 16and servers 12. Client equipment 16 may include processing equipment 18for receiving and communicating fantasy sports contest related data anduser account information. For example, user account informationsubmitted by a user during the user account setup process may betransmitted by processing equipment 18 to servers 12 for furtherprocessing and storage. The processing equipment 18 may identify localusers without searching or requesting for user account information fromremote storage locations (e.g., server 12). The user may interact withprocessing equipment 18 using input device 24 which may be a keyboard,or any other suitable device. The Fantasy Sports News Alert notificationplatform is based on SMS-delivery technology developed for the realestate industry by the Principals of FantasyAlarm.com, LLC. Theproprietary component of the platform is the API (automated processinginterface) that facilitates the movement of data from the primarydatabase of sports information to the user. The API queries andretrieves sports data from STATS, Inc., aggregates and complies thedata, and sends the results out to the user in the form of text.

The back end of the system uses the server side scripting language PHP.MySQL is used for database management.

The overall process is as follows:

-   -   Initial Population of the Fantasy Sport News Alert.    -   Initially the STATS data is loaded (with loading scripts) into a        MySQL database using the STATS XML files that are pushed to the        Fantasy Sports News Alert Web server.    -   Receiving New Data.    -   When the server receives a new file, algorithms compare the        currently loaded data with data from the new file in specific        fields (i.e., status field, injured field, suspended field,        etc.).    -   Updating the Database.    -   If the new data is different from the currently loaded data, the        Fantasy Sport News Alert program determines what users need to        be notified and then sends them an email of SMS message        detailing the change.

The underlying Fantasy Sports News Alert technology checks the STATS,Inc. database a half hour before game time and compares the user's dailyroster to the actual lineup. If the user has placed a player on hisroster who isn't in the lineup, the user will get a text message oremail notifying him of this fact.

Fantasy Sports News Alert will also pull other data from the STATS, Inc.database (such as cumulative statistics, general statistics and playerprofiles). That data will be displayed on the company's Web site,Fantasy Sports News Alert.com, which is built using SilverStripe, a freeopen source, object oriented PHPS framework. The SilverStripe ContentManagement System (CMS) takes advantage of a simple templating languageto construct and manage Web applications, such as adding links, pagesand images.

Fantasy Sports News Alert automatically sends out free emails or paidemail (as free) or text messages in certain defined situations. Thesetrigger events are discussed below for each of the fantasy sports ofbaseball, football and basketball.

Additionally, Fantasy Sports News Alert is set up to enable manualnotifications if a consequential event occurs that is not normallytracked and would not otherwise trigger an automatic email or textmessage. Users may be limited to tracking 25 baseball players, 12basketball players or 20 football players at any given time.

Fantasy Sports News Alert sends out notifications (email and/or text) inspecific, defined situations. Additionally, mass notifications will besent manually to the Fantasy Sports News Alert community if somethingnoteworthy occurs that is not normally tracked by Fantasy Sports NewsAlert (and thus would not automatically trigger an alert). An examplewould be a rare event, such as singing as a free agent or something ofthe sort.

Fantasy Sports News Alert Trigger Events for Baseball.

The MLB issues the lineup list 90 minutes before every game. FantasySports News Alert uses this list and other information that STATS, Inc.to trigger automatic notifications to registered users for trackedplayers in the following situations:

-   -   Payer appears on the 25-man roster but does not appear in the        daily lineup.    -   Player has been moved to the DL, sent to minors, or placed on        the inactive list (or removed from the 25 man roster for any        reason).    -   Player is removed from the DL for any reason. .i.e., added from        the 25-man roster.    -   Player is traded to another team.    -   Pitcher is scheduled to make a start.

Fantasy Sports News Alert Trigger Events for Football.

The NFL issues player status updates throughout the playing week andprovides an active/inactive report approximately 45 minutes prior toeach game, Fantasy Sports News Alert will use this information fromSTATS, Inc. to trigger automatic notifications to registered users inthe following situations:

-   -   Player is added to NFL injury list, listed as questionable or        listed as probable.    -   Player is on final inactive list sent out prior to gametime    -   Player is removed from active roster (injured, suspended, etc.).    -   Player is added to the active roster.    -   Player is traded.    -   Manual notifications by monitoring various media outlets        including pre-game broadcasts on whether a player will play on a        game or not (and other game-time decisions).

Fantasy Sports News Alert Trigger Events for Basketball.

The NBA doesn't issue daily lineups, therefore, Fantasy Sports NewsAlert will use other information from STATS, Inc. to trigger automaticnotifications to registered users in the following situations:

-   -   Player is added to NBA injured list.    -   Player is removed from active roster (injured, suspended, etc.).    -   Player s added to the active roster.    -   Player is traded.    -   Manual notifications by monitoring various media outlets        including pre-game broadcasts on whether a player will play in a        game or not (and other game-time decisions).

Fantasy Sports News Alert provides the following:

-   -   Real time SMS (text) and email notification capability providing        sports manager with lineup and other critical information within        minutes of information being released.    -   Breaking information/lineup change information provided on site.    -   Breaking sports information.    -   The actual online playing field where players build their own        teams and compete against each other.    -   Real-time scores and other player and league statistics.    -   Daily updates, sports blogs, breaking news, etc. from groups of        sports writers with a direct pipeline to general managers,        managers, coaches, players and scouts.    -   Helps players prepare for their fantasy drafts.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a flow diagram for obtaining thelineup of a baseball team in accordance with the principles of theinvention.

Initially the MLB lineup XML file is received from STATS, block 40. Thenin block 40, the MLB file is parsed for team codes of home/visitingteams and player codes for players in team batting lineup. At block 44,get complete roster of players for home visiting teams from FantasySport News Alert database. Continuing, at block 46, iterate throughcomplete roster and remove players in lineup, pitchers and players thatare on the DL, and then at block 48, send notifications to FantasySports News Alert users that manage remaining players.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out thefundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the preferredembodiments, it will be understood that the foregoing is considered asillustrative only of the principles of the invention and not intended tobe exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings. The embodiments discussed were chosen and described toprovide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and itspractical application to enable one of ordinary skill in the art toutilize the invention in various embodiments and with variousmodifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated All suchmodifications and variations are within the scope of the invention asdetermined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance withthe breadth to which they are entitled.

1. A method of providing an on line service to fantasy sports playerswho own, draft or manage fictional teams of professional athletes whichcompete against each other comprises: notifying a fantasy sports managerof last minute near real time sports updates relating to football,baseball or basketball of breaking information/lineup change informationto enable the fantasy sports manager to quickly make a change to thelineup of his/her team; wherein the fantasy sport manager upon receivingthe breaking information about a change that has occurred that affectsthe fantasy manager's daily lineup can quickly make a change to his/herteam lineup to obtain a competitive edge.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein the fantasy sports manager is notified by standard email on asubscription basis.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the fantasy sportsmanager is notified by email without advertising for a charge.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the fantasy sports manager is notified by textmessage on a subscription basis where the price is determined by themaximum number of messages per month.
 5. The method of claim 1 whereinthe daily roster of a team is checked one half hour prior to game timeand compared to the actual lineup wherein if the user has placed aplayer on his roster who isn't in the lineup, the user will be sent atext message or email notifying him/her of this fact.
 6. The method ofclaim 1 wherein for the fantasy game of baseball the player can track upto 25 players, wherein the lineup list issued by MLB 90 minutes beforegame time is used to trigger automatic notification to registered usersfor tracked players where a tracked player appears on the 25 man rosterbut does not appear in the daily lineup.
 7. The method of claim 1wherein for the fantasy game of baseball the player can track up to 25players, wherein the lineup list issued by MLB 90 minutes before gametime is used to trigger automatic notification to registered users fortracked players where a tracked player has been moved to the DL, sent tothe minors, placed on the inactive list, or removed from the 25 manroster for any reason.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein for the fantasygame of baseball the player can track up to 25 players, wherein thelineup list issued by MLB 90 minutes before game time is used to triggerautomatic notification to registered users for tracked players where atracked player is removed from the DL for any reason.
 9. The method ofclaim 1 wherein for the fantasy game of baseball the player can track upto 25 players, wherein the lineup list issued by MLB 90 minutes beforegame time is used to trigger automatic notification to registered usersfor tracked players where a tracked player is traded to another team.10. The method of claim 1 wherein for the fantasy game of baseball theplayer can track up to 25 players, wherein the lineup list issued by MLB90 minutes before game time is used to trigger automatic notification toregistered users for tracked players where a pitcher is scheduled tomake a start.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein for the fantasy game offootball the player can track up to 20 players, wherein automaticnotification to registered users for tracked players is triggered when atracked player is on the NFL active/inactive list released by NFLapproximately 45 minutes prior to gametime.
 12. The method of claim 1wherein for the fantasy game of football the player can track up to 20players, wherein automatic notification to registered users for trackedplayers is triggered when a tracked player is added to NFL injury list,listed as questionable or listed as probable.
 13. The method of claim 1wherein for the fantasy game of football the player can track up to 20players, wherein automatic notification to registered users for trackedplayers is triggered when a tracked player is removed from the activeroster.
 14. The method of claim 1 wherein for the fantasy game offootball the player can track up to 20 players, wherein automaticnotification to registered users for tracked players is triggered when atracked player is added to the active roster.
 15. The method of claim 1wherein for the fantasy game of football the player can track up to 20players, wherein automatic notification to registered users for trackedplayers is triggered when a tracked player is traded.
 16. The method ofclaim 1 wherein for the fantasy game of football the player can track upto 20 players, wherein automatic notification to registered users fortracked players is triggered when manual notifications by monitoringvarious media outlets including pre-game broadcasts indicate whether aplayer will play in a game or not.
 17. The method of claim 1 wherein forthe fantasy game of basketball the player can track up to 12 players,wherein automatic notification to registered users for tracked playersis triggered when a tracked player is added to NBA injury list.
 18. Themethod of claim 1 wherein for the fantasy game of basketball the playercan track up to 12 players, wherein automatic notification to registeredusers for tracked players is triggered when a tracked player is removedfrom active roster.
 19. The method of claim 1 wherein for the fantasygame of basketball the player can track up to 12 players, whereinautomatic notification to registered users for tracked players istriggered when a tracked player is added to the active roster.
 20. Themethod of claim 1 wherein for the fantasy game of basketball the playercan track up to 12 players, wherein automatic notification to registeredusers for tracked players is triggered when a tracked player is traded.21. (canceled)